Infinite in Between

Starred review from July 13, 2015
During high school orientation, five ninth graders write letters to their future selves, promising to reunite on graduation day and read them together. Each student starts school with hopes and fears, and over time faces trials related to friends, family, unrequited love, body image, school, and extracurricular interests. In eighth grade, Jake came out to his best friend, who promptly dropped him; knowing that word has spread, Jake avoids sports teams and hides in the art room, trying to find his niche. Popular Whitney repeatedly chooses friends who prove not to be friends, leaving her with no confidence when her parents’ divorce shatters her world. While the five rarely interact at first, they become increasingly supportive of each other, fostering courage: while family chaos has long threatened Zoe’s happiness, “she realized that, somehow, she was going to muddle through.” The story unfolds by year and month; each month contains short chapters from one or more teen’s perspectives. Mackler (The Future of Us) keeps all five story lines clear, absorbing, and integral to the larger story of friendship, perseverance, and hope. Ages 13–up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House.

Starred review from July 15, 2015
A Breakfast Club-style, randomly assigned freshman orientation group experiences the highs and lows of four years of high school. The prologue gives the concept-five teens write letters to their future selves during freshman orientation and agree to assemble again after graduation to read them-and teases the whens and whats of big surprises to come. Gregor's a small, quiet musician; Zoe, the daughter of a famous actress; Jake, the all-American type; Mia, the weird brainiac; and Whitney, the beautiful, popular girl. Their storylines over the next four years occasionally cross paths and share reoccurring supporting characters. Gregor is hopelessly in love with Whitney, whose primary social entanglements aren't her series of boyfriends but the best friends she falls in and out of favor with. Mia tries to reinvent herself, while Jake tries to accept himself, and Zoe's too busy trying to hide from expectations to figure out who she wants to be. Protagonists experience fleeting loves and lose attachments, they develop emotionally and sexually, and each tackles varying degrees of family conflicts and-for some-tragedies. Despite the prologue's forecasting, many twists still surprise. Problem-novel subjects are elevated by both the humanity of the characters and the intricate ways that they weave in and out of each other's lives. Characters live, grow, and ultimately come of age in a beautifully constructed world. (Fiction. 13 & up)

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Starred review from September 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-What are the four years spent in high school made up of? Teens tend to focus on the big moments-midterms and finals, homecoming and prom, first dates and first loves. But what about those unexpected battles and victories that truly shape and change them? Mackler follows five young adults from freshman orientation to senior graduation. Jake, Zoe, Whitney, Gregor, and Mia all have their own expectations for where they want to be at the end of high school. With shifting viewpoints among the five of them, readers get short but insightful glimpses at each of the protagonists. It can feel clunky to follow a character through high school in just one book, but Mackler does it deftly here with all five. This work even takes on several tough topics, including death, coming out, and addiction. Instead of feeling like a "very special episode," each situation is presented in a genuine and gentle way. This title is a slow burn: the author expertly illustrates how all moments, little or huge, have an impact on who we are. Readers will empathize with and cheer on Zoe, Whitney, Mia, Gregor, and Jake as they change, grow, and reevaluate who they are and who they want to be. VERDICT A wonderfully written peek into adolescence gushing with relatability.-Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 It's only four years, but, boy, is high school formative. Freshman orientation throws together five students who don't really have much in common. But they all write letters to themselves, promising to reunite to read them after graduation, before separating to navigate the sometimes-treacherous, always-emotional waters of high school, witnessing the same events in different ways, and occasionally intersecting. Orchestra-geek Gregor pines after a popular girl from afar until tragedy strikes. Zoe, whose famous mom is in rehab, is learning how to be a normal kid. It doesn't bother Jake that he's gayhe just wants to be comfortable in his own skin. Whitney, gorgeous and popular, deals with mercurial friendships and a rocky home life. And shy, quiet Mia learns how to become a person who lives instead of watches. Printz Honor Bookwinning Mackler has created a novel that is special because of its ordinariness: there are no hooks, no gimmicks. Things happen, for the most part, no more dramatically than they do in high schools every day. A clear, true portrait of life as it is for many teenagers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)